1. Technology Field
The present invention generally relates to a storage device protection technique, and more particularly, to a storage device protection system capable of securely backing up an administrator ID and an administrator password and methods thereof for locking and unlocking a storage device.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with the widespread of digital cameras, cell phones, and MP3 in recently years, the consumers' demand to storage media has increased drastically. Rewritable non-volatile memory is one of the most adaptable storage media to portable electronic products (for example, notebook computers) due to its many characteristics such as data non-volatility, low power consumption, small volume, non-mechanical structure, and high access speed. A solid state drive (SSD) is a memory storage device which uses a flash memory as its storage medium. Thus, in recent years, the flash memory industry has become a major part of the electronic industry.
In some applications, a storage device provides a protection mechanism so as to allow a user to set the storage device into a protection status. Namely, the user can set up an administrator ID and an administrator password and lock the storage device according to the administrator ID and the administrator password. To access the locked storage device, correct administrator ID and administrator password have to be input to unlock the storage device, so that data stored in the storage device is prevented from being accessed by unauthorized users. Particularly, when someone inputs incorrect administrator ID and administrator password for more than a predetermined number of times, the storage device will be permanently locked and data stored therein will not be accessible anymore, so that the protection mechanism is prevented from being cracked by unauthorized users through repeated trial and error attacks. However, a storage device may be permanently locked if a user forgets his/her password. Thereby, how to allow a user to unlock a storage device even when the user forgets his/her ID or password has become a major subject in the industry.
Nothing herein should be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art of any portion of the present invention. Furthermore, citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention, or that any reference forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art.